Manly have been called every name under the sun, but Sydney Roosters coach Brad Fittler has added a new moniker to the high-flying Sea Eagles: "blue collar".

Manly's seven-game unbeaten stretch has lifted them into the outright NRL lead and prompted many to question whether the "Silvertails" have surpassed reigning premiers Melbourne as the competition benchmarks.

Fittler said that, while it was debatable whether the Sea Eagles were better than the Storm, they were the best bunch of workers in the NRL.

"They seem to be playing a brand [of football where] 17 players all put their blue collars on and they all work hard for each other," Fittler said leading into the Roosters' clash with Manly today.

"Their combinations are really working and they just seem to be composed the whole way through the game.

"They're sitting on top and I just think they're certainly playing good semi-final football and just wearing sides down and they seem pretty hard to crack."

Fittler said the Sea Eagles' clinical attacking pressure was their greatest asset.

In Manly's 42-0 round-13 drubbing of the Roosters at Brookvale Oval their persistence led to a landslide of five tries in 18 minutes.

In round 15 versus the Warriors, after the bye, it was two late tries in seven minutes, then three in 15 against Newcastle, four in 17 over the Gold Coast, four in 23 to stun Cronulla and the same last week against Parramatta.

"They bashed up on us pretty good over there," Fittler said. "They just wore us down at the back end of the game … they are pretty good at that.

"They can make a team that has tried their best look pretty ordinary.

"Their last couple of wins have all come down to the back end of the game so not only have you got to get there, you also have to be fit and fast because they will keep coming at you."